3 charred to death, many injured as moving bus catches fire at Rampura

3 charred to death, many injured as moving bus catches fire at Rampura

As many as three passengers were burnt alive and about two dozen others got severe burn injuries as the air-conditioned (AC) bus they were travelling in caught fire at Bathinda-Rampura railway crossing on Saturday evening. The bus belonged to a private transport company, learnt to be Rayya Transport Company (RTC). The vehicle was on its way to Bathinda from Jalandhar via Ludhiana. Immediately after the incident took place, civil and police administration along with various ambulance and fire fighting vehicles rushed the spot and carried out the rescue operation with the help of locals.According to police, about 20 passengers, with burn injuries, were rushed to the Civil Hospital Rampura of whom three were referred to the Civil Hospital Bathinda for further treatment. Till filing the report at about 8.15 pm, rescue operation was in progress with the senior officials present on the spot.Meanwhile, police were investigating the role of the driver before lodging the first information report (FIR) as some of the passengers accused him of jumping out of the bus before opening the pressure doors, which led to the disaster. “Police have inputs from the passengers regarding the response of driver to the situation, which is being investigated. If any act of negligence is established against the driver, then charges will be framed against him as per the provisions in Indian Penal Code,” police said.

As per the recent report the CCTV footage of the incident has been received and case has been registered against the driver and the Rayya Transport Company (RTC).